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Tuesday, 27 June 2017

Setting Things Up For Next Year

Yesterday we had a meeting with Alex's school to set up as much as possible for next year. Unfortunately, we don't know who his teacher will be, which leaves a big gap in the plans. But we still managed to get some ideas.The Learning Support Teacher (head of the program) will send me an email with the name and photo of the new teacher as soon as she knows who it will be. That will definitely help Alex with his expectation. In August, we will come and do a tour of the school to remind Alex that everything is physically the same as it was last year. We will also set up a meeting with the teacher to discuss Alex and his strengths and needs and do it as early in the year as possible. (Preferably before Alex starts school but that's one of the unknowns.)I'm also going to be going after OSTA (the transportation group) again over the summer. Alex has had five different drivers this year (not including one day subs) and we haven't received notice about any of them. Just a different driver one day. At home, we will work on bolting and compliance, and as much as possible, aggression and head-banging. The latter two are difficult because we don't see them often at home.I am also going to ask the school to collect data on bolting, aggression, head-banging and compliance next year. That will give a much more solid understanding of what is working and what isn't.This year was very difficult. There were a lot of things which happened which were out of anyone's control but which also weren't given much of a transition setup. Add in the inconsistent expectations and reactions and it's not surprising that Alex had a rough time. But the important thing is that it did not go on long enough to overthrow all the work we've done. With hard work and a little luck, we should be able to get Alex back on track fairly swiftly.